One

ASPEN VESPER

“Kai…” Aspen breathed while she continued to push her failing legs past the thick forest. “Kai… Please…” Her eyes filled with tears but she quickly blinked them away. She would cry all she wanted once she’s safe in her mate’s arms.

Besides, if her calculation was right, that day was their official mating ceremony. So, more reason to ignore the pain in her soul and get to the venue before her mate, Kailin Blackwood, could think otherwise of the love she had for him.

So, Aspen ran until the wedding setup they planned came into view. With a limp in her soul and legs, she made for the exquisite decor which was already filled with people who came to wish the newlyweds well. As she moved, Aspen wondered if her parents were anywhere nearby. She was certain that with a quick wash and simple makeup, she would be ready in no time to-

“Lycan Kailin Blackwood, do you accept Raven Vesper to be your mate?”

The loud words of the officiating priest halted Aspen’s motion.

Her heart thudded while her forehead wore a deep crease of confusion.

In a corner of her mind, she was probably imagining things, so she decided to adopt easy steps and slowly walk towards the ceremony.

Once she was at a spot that hid her and gave a good view of the ceremony, Kai's unmistakable voice responded with, “Yes, I do. I take Raven Vesper to be my mate. From now on, I will love and cherish her. And with the guidance of the moon goddess, she will rule by my side as the Luna of our great pack.”

Aspen fell to the ground. Her widened eyes slowly panned to the right to see the woman Kai was publicly professing his love to. It was indeed her younger sister, Raven Vesper.

Her world shattered, fear gripped her and the weight of the kidnap she suffered a week to that day started to press on her soul. Her throat started to feel scratchy, her face felt heated, her heart raced as though it was going to burst within seconds and her body blatantly refused to move.

With that massive ache in her soul, she watched as her sister accepted Lycan Kai’s vows with a wide smile. She watched as they shared their official mate marks and kissed in front of the cheering crowd.

But it soon made no sense to her that she was cowering in a corner as though she was Kai’s forbidden lover. No, she was his mate, the one he confessed love to way before they decided to proceed with the official ceremony.

That thought made her ignore the suffering she was experiencing. And she got up. Without minding anything around her, she began to walk down the aisle she was meant to happily thread. With the kissing duo in sight, she moved until someone blocked her way.

She looked up and saw that it was one of the guards.

“Who are you?” he demanded. And she ignored him.

Somehow, she walked past him and with tears in her eyes, she focused on Kailin who was now looking in her direction.

“Kailin…” she called, her voice hoarse and not as loud as she wished for it to be. So, she screamed with all her might. “Kailin!”

That caused a lot of shocked gasps from the crowd and soon, more guards arrived and blocked her path.

Lycan Kailin, on the other hand, distanced himself from Raven Vesper and with a frown on his face, he approached Aspen. When he ended up in front of her, though she could hardly feel the intensity of their mate bond, hope filled her eyes, a breath of expectation filled her lungs and her lips were ready to confess that she was disappointed in him.

But he beat her to it. With a barely excited expression on his face, he gave her a once-over and asked, “How dare you interrupt the royal wedding? Who do you think you are?”

That question shocked Aspen, it further plunged a knife into her heart.

“Kailin…” Her hands began to shake, she tried hard to hide it, but the tears in her eyes distracted her.

“Do you have anything to say, woman?” he asked calmly. “If not, I implore you to stop mentioning my name. If you can’t show any respect, walk away now, and don’t make this moment worse for yourself.”

“Kailin…” She was beyond shocked that he was speaking so coldly to her as though she was some stranger who wanted to steal his shine. “Kailin…” The lack of confidence in her voice disoriented her. “I-it’s me, K-Kailin. Asp…”

“Escort her out of this place before I lose my cool.” His face hardened while he glanced at one of the guards.

“Wait, no. No. Kailin. Wait.”

“Get her out this instant!” he roared and Aspen lost all the fire in her soul.

Nothing was in her mate’s eyes. He didn’t seem bothered that she was in front of him looking roughed up. He seemed more concerned with walking back to the altar to hold her sister’s hand.

And when he did, with a certain reverberance that shut up the noise around them, he announced, “Let it be known that Raven Vesper, the woman whom the goddess mated me with, is now my wife. She will rule beside me as the Luna Queen of the Nyx Pack and we will bear pups that will enrich the value of our pack.”

As the crowd cheered, Aspen felt the knife in her heart go in deeper. She grabbed the chest of her tattered shirt and tried to remain sane. Only, she couldn’t.

And worse, when she looked to her right, her eyes met her father’s who wore a frown one minute and looked away the next.

That became the breaking point for Aspen who went berserk and decided to at least pull the hair of the fools that were getting married after pretending that they didn’t know who she was in front of an influential crowd.

But the moment she moved her right foot, someone gripped her from behind and with their strength and a hand over her mouth, they inconspicuously carried her out of that space and till they were considerably far from the venue, the person didn’t stop.

“Stay still,” the raspiness of the person’s voice tried to put a stop to Aspen’s struggle. But she kept fighting till they reached a safe distance and he put her down. “You shouldn’t be stubborn about going back,” the man said, his powerful presence forcing her to give him her full attention. “You will be killed if you do.”

Aspen frowned and wondered if her family had something to do with her kidnapping. After all, she was forcibly taken while she was in her father’s house and given the amount of security their family had, it sure was weird that no one noticed a thing while she was screaming for help.

“Ah…” Aspen’s frown deepened. She was trying to respond to the man’s statements, but all that came out was a breath. “Ah…” She tried to speak again, the same thing. “Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah… Ahhhh.” The more she tried, the more words failed to fill her mouth. She could not hear herself speaking the words she tried to utter. With fear now growing more within her, she touched her throat, rubbed it frantically and tried to speak once more.

“You were probably poisoned.” She looked up at the man with tears now in her eyes. “That’s the main problem you have to worry about.” The man sighed, reached into his bag, brought out a small mirror and after another heavy breath, he brought the mirror to her face.

The image she saw scared her so much that a vicious scream filled her mind while she hurriedly buried her face in her hands. It was then she felt the burning on her face.

“If you ask me who did it, I won’t be able to answer. The full details of your kidnapping are still unknown. But your loss of voice and the scarring on your face is evidence that whoever kidnapped you fed you wolfsbane.”

Aspen closed her eyes and the image of the hideous red patches plastered on her face filled her mind in a way that made her wonder where she went wrong in her life. She was so certain that her life was almost perfect before the kidnap. Her plans to become a renowned doctor were on track, she was mates with a man she loved and it was a plus that he was the Lycan King of the most prestigious pack in the country- The Nyx Pack.

So, how? How did it all go wrong?

Why was she now mateless, voiceless and looking like a monster that would always be tossed to the depths of dirt?

“Aspen,” the man squatted in front of her and despite the state of her face, he looked at her with certain care in his eyes, “come with me. Not only will we find the ones who did this to you, but I will use all means to cure the effect of the poison, and as you desire, you will start life on a fresh slate. What do you say? Will you join me?”

Who the fuck was he anyway? Aspen wondered while her heavy and teary eyes started to desire deep slumber to numb the raging pain in her soul.

“I am Ezra of the Rebel Pack.” Aspen had breezily heard about them. They were actively involved in getting the Lycan King dethroned. The man continued, “It sounds wrong to tell you this, but my people have been following the Lycan King for a while. You fell under our radar, so we suspected kidnapping when you went missing days ago. Anyway, let's leave that aside for now, if you nod and agree to my help, I promise you that you will never regret it.”

Aspen wasn’t stupid. She knew it was wise to say yes because there was nowhere else to go.

But how foolish she was to have trusted Kailin. How foolish of her to hope and believe in the love they shared for years.

Aspen ducked her head, let some tears roll out, said a few prayers for her soul, and swore to get back at those who abandoned and betrayed her and minutes later, she got to her feet.

“Which is it?” Ezra asked as he stood up as well.

Aspen stretched her right hand, he accepted her offer and as she shook his hand, her head nodded in affirmative.

And with relief, he said, “It’s a deal. As of today, you Aspen Vesper have become an official member of The Rebel Pack. I look forward to our collaboration.”